Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1887-09-09
HoTreNToT AND THERMOMETER.
A Black Barbarian who Was Much ZEE.

A Black Barbarian who was Much ZEE.
ercised Over the Mercury I'm the Tube.
My boy Pet was not handsome. In
deed, to European ideas, his small eyes
set obliquely in his face; his wide and
flat nose with its distorted nostrils, and
the bridge 80 little elevated that the
space between the cheek bones was al
most fiat; his protruding lips and long
and prominent but narrow and pointed
chin might appear positively ugly, not
withstanding the verdicts of the various
Hottentot bellies with whom he was on
familiar terms, and who evidently re-
garded him with approving eyes.
He was pure Hottentot, of type now
almost extinct; he was faithful; tolerably
honest, except in matters in which food,
drink or money were concerned; less of
q drunkard than most of his compatriots;
and a liar of but small capacity. He
was about five feet four inches in height
and of a jaundiced yellow hue. His age
amounted to about 10 years in actual
time; but he appeared to be at least
century old In wickedness and depravity.
D. kept thermometer hung up on
a nail which was driven into one of the
ridge poles of the tent, and the mercury
in the tube and bowl much exercised the
mind of Piet. He asked us frequently
what it was for and evidently regarded
our explanations as to the use Of the in
strument as mere subterfuges designed to
disguise the truth, asking:
"What thesuse of such t'ing2 S'pose
see cloud dis side over dar, den me
know rain soon catch dis part, and make
plenty cold. S'pose you no able for tell
If day hot or cold without dem t'ing2''
The word mercury, too, he con-
sidered d slang name we had invented to
describe the metal in the bowl; and one
day, when D. happened to refer to It
as Quicksilver" In PETS presence,
could see a sudden CLEAN of intelligence
in the boys eyes, and a pleased express
sion on his flat countenance, as if he had
at last received corroborative evidence of
fact which he had long suspected.
Next day we came back from the claim
somewhat earlier than was our custom
on account of the unusual heat, and
when D. went, as usual, toward the
thermometer to see what the temperature
was, behold, no thermometer was there.
We, of course, suspected Piet at once,
and searched high and low for him. He
was nowhere near our tent, but after
some time we discovered him at little
distance, crouched down behind a heap
of stuff near sorting table, busily en-
gagged with something on the ground.
We approached him on tiptoe, and be-
held an amusing sight Before him on
the ground lay the broken thermometer
and beside it, in the dust, was a glisten-
ing little silver globule Of mercury.
PETS eyes were fastened upon this with
a mingled expression of amazement and
fright. Every now and then he would
cautiously extend a finger and thumb
and endeavor to pick up the mercury,
which naturally escaped him and rolled
to one side. His action and expression
each time he found he had missed it
were so absurd that at last we could not
restrain our laughter; ne at once heard
us, looked round, and the next moment
was dancing about and making grimaces
at us 200 yards off.
1t was not until the pangs of hunger
compelled him, toward the evening, to
approach the tent that we caught him.
He expressed contrition, but seemed to
think, at the same time, that we had
played a shabby trick on him.
"What for you tell me that silver live
in dem ting for2" he asked, "Why you
no say it witchcrafti and then l left him.
That no good siver-not money silver"
All the Year Round.